MOTOGP: Lorenzo had to use 80 percent throttle

Jorge Lorenzo has revealed he had to use 80 percent throttle during MotoGP's Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, costing him the chance to fight Valentino Rossi for victory.

Rossi won his first race of the campaign having led from start to finish, other than a handful of seconds early when Lorenzo snuck past briefly at Turn 9. At the front of the pack, Rossi was able to build a lead of three seconds in the first half of the race, before Lorenzo started to peg it back.

However, the three-time champion says he then encountered rear-tire spinning down the main straight, which prevented further progress.

"Rossi was faster in the first part of the race, and I was losing little by little some metres," Lorenzo said. "The rear tires started to spin on the straight but not so much and then I quickly started to recover some meters to Rossi and suddenly the rears started to spin in the centre. This has never happened to me in MotoGP so I had to slow down and use 80 percent of throttle on the straights in every gear and I couldn't keep the same dynamic, to fight for the win."

Low rear grip was a common theme during the first European event of the season, with Rossi saying he suffered a problem similar to Lorenzo's on his way to victory.

The Jerez surface has been cited as a factor, along with the stiffer construction Michelin rear tires introduced for the Austin race, following problems on the satellite Ducatis of Loris Baz in pre-season and Scott Redding in Argentina.

While Lorenzo is among the riders keen to go back to the previous specification, if its safety can be ensured, the stiffer construction will remain in place for the rest of the season.

During Monday's post-race test, though, Michelin will work with teams to select one of its two constructions for the front tyre.

"I hope in the next race we will not have problems with the rear," Lorenzo said. "I'm happy with the front because it's now safer and better, but after the problems for Baz and Redding, Michelin needs to get experience to improve the rear."

Originally on Autosport.com